Ironhack Prework: UrbanGo
UrbanGo, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is a startup focused on public transportation and mapping. Their primary aim is to address urban mobility challenges by providing users with the fastest and most cost-effective routes for both public and private transportation options.
What is the main problem?
Travelers frequently need to purchase multiple types of public transportation tickets, which can be physical paper or plastic cards. This often leads to frustration due to long lines, malfunctioning vending machines, and challenges with pricing and ticket selection, especially when traveling abroad.
Action plan to find a solution
I conducted research among my target audience, which 5 individuals who use public transportation, particularly when traveling abroad. I aimed to understand the challenges they face and identify areas where they would like to see improvements. The participants in the study use public transport both in the Netherlands and in various European and Asian countries.
Maurits: Carry no cash! You can’t get robbed. Every train station is risky. They can spot you looking like a tourist. Thieves walk by, searching for tourists who aren’t familiar with the country’s rules. That’s why I like Uber, because no financial transactions in the car.
Jochem: When traveling for work from Eindhoven to Poing, near Munich in Germany I use the NS ( Dutch Railway) app, I use the NS International app, and I have the Deutsche Bahn app. I would prefer to use an app where I can track the entire journey and have all the tickets in one place. I often experience delays.
Peer: At the metro station in Barcelona, the ticket machine was all in Spanish. No English option. We couldn’t understand it at all. We noticed something of group or family discount, but it was difficult for us to grasp the conditions. I think we looked so hopelessly confused that we eventually got help from a Metro employee.
photos from Unsplash.
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Problems my travellers have:
Mindmap of the product to design, (what we try to solve):
Sketching of wireframe:
Looking back
I found conducting interviews very inspiring. I had prepared questions, but I found it challenging to stick to them. Often, the interviewees share specific stories that are inspiring, but should I have kept it more general? Is it about asking many questions and getting short answers? Or is it okay if it turns into an exciting travel narrative?
The more I work on the assignment, the more options I come up with and considerations I need to make. Choices, too, because is it practical to have an overload of options?
Right now, I’ve mainly focused on buying a ticket and the ability to create a personal profile. This way, it can be taken into account during the checkout process. Is there a student discount or group discount for 4 or more people?
In the Netherlands, it’s already common to travel with a digital ticket, using your phone to open the gates. However, in other countries, this isn’t always the case. For instance, my traveler to Barcelona needed paper tickets from the machine because the metro gates in Barcelona haven’t been converted to digital yet. Is it possible to pay through the app and have the tickets ready for pickup at the machine, allowing them to be printed there?
